ATF blames Texas church fires on serial arsonist as 2 More Churches Go Up In Flames

By SCHUYLER DIXON Associated Press at KXXV.com
Photo by Chris Vinn in The Tyler Morning Telegraph
A spate of recent fires that destroyed or damaged several churches in eastern Texas were intentionally set, likely by the same person or group, federal authorities said Tuesday. Fires that broke out at two churches near Tyler on Monday have not yet been ruled arson, but authorities are investigating them as such. They were reported within an hour of one another and there were signs that at least one of the churches had been broken into.

Since Jan. 1, eight churches – seven in eastern Texas and one in the central part of the state – have been set ablaze deliberately, authorities have said.

The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which is heading the investigation into the blazes, believe they are the work of a serial arsonist or group of arsonists, said Clay Alexander, the head of the bureau’s office in Tyler.

Alexander offered few details about Monday’s blazes, but he said they were being investigated as arsons.

The fires broke out at two churches about three miles apart in a rural area northwest of Tyler, which is about 85 miles southeast of Dallas.

“We would just like to find out why this is going on and please stop it,” Smith County Fire Marshal Jim Seaton said.

Nearby fire departments have been on high alert because of the fires, and firefighters from throughout the area responded quickly to the Monday blazes at the Dover Baptist Church and Clear Spring Missionary Baptist Church, said Smith County Assistant Fire Marshal Oren Hale.

There were no injuries reported in either fire, but the damage appeared to be extensive, said Hale, who worked at both fire scenes until about 3 a.m. Tuesday.

“They were big ones. They’re not to the ground, but they’ll be total losses,” he said.

Assistant Fire Marshal Connie McCoy-Wasson, who was first on the scene at Clear Spring Missionary Baptist Church, said flames were coming out of the building’s roof when she got there. The back door of the church had been broken, she said.

On Tuesday, the church’s red brick walls were all that remained. It’s pastor, Brandon Owens, said he planned to meet with his congregation of about 50 Tuesday night to figure out where they would worship Sunday.

“I will be preaching,” Owens said. “We will be OK. We’ll still be going.”

The church also burned eight years ago when it was struck by lightning.

Several people gathered Tuesday near the still-smoldering Dover church. Most of sanctuary’s roof had collapsed, but the steeple was still standing.

“It’s heartbreaking,” said 70-year-old Floyd Moseley, a retired Tyler firefighter who used to belong to the church and whose father helped build it.

The church only has about 70 members, with regular Sunday attendance about half of that.

Dover Baptist recently took precautions because of so many church fires, trustee Albert Valadez said. The staff barred the church doors and installed “dummy” inoperable video cameras above the main doors because the church couldn’t afford real video equipment.

“It’s devastating,” Pastor Carl Samples said. “It definitely tests your faith, but I know beyond every doubt that God can see us through.”

The ATF deemed the investigation urgent on Jan. 11, when two churches were torched in nearby Athens, said Alexander. He said agents who were working last weekend’s Super Bowl in Miami were brought in to help.

“We’ve been doing this for a long time,” Alexander said. “We’re not getting a lot of sleep. We’re tired. We’re frustrated that this is continuing to happen. But we remain strong in our belief that we’re going to find who did this.”

Rusk County Sheriff Danny Pirtle asked to meet with area church leaders on Thursday to discuss safety measures.
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By Kenneth Dean and Chad Thomas in The Tyler Morning Telegraph
Area firefighters from multiple departments were scrambling to respond to at least two church fires within three miles of each other in Smith County on Monday night — the latest in a rash of East Texas church fires, many of which have been ruled arsons.

Firefighters first responded to a fire at Dover Baptist Church, 21166 Farm-to-Market Road 1995, near the intersection with Texas Highway 110 North, where flames were tearing through the roof about 20 minutes after the first witnesses spotted it. Firefighters from various departments including Lindale, Van, Dixie, Winona and Red Springs were on the scene.

A short time later, a second fire was reported at nearby Clear Springs Missionary Baptist Church on County Road 426, where the structure was fully engulfed. The second fire was three miles west of the first Monday night blaze. Departments including Ben Wheeler, Edom and Van were helping respond to the second fire.

Late Monday night, one of the walls of the church had collapsed and the roof had fallen in at the second church fire.

“We just hope we don’t have another fire tonight,” Smith County Fire Marshal Jim Seaton said.

Smith County Assistant Fire Marshal Connie McCoy-Wasson was the first on the scene at Clear Springs Missionary Baptist Church. She said the fire already was coming out of the roof, and she called for immediate back-up. It was evident, she said, that the back door of the church was broken into.

While officials cannot confirm yet that these recent fires also are arsons, Smith County fire officials did say both churches were broken into.

“We’ve got to catch this guy,” Seaton said.

Dover Baptist trustee Albert Valadez said he received a call shortly after 9 p.m. from a friend, Woody Willard, who first spotted the fire while driving on Texas Highway 110 just a mile south of Interstate 20.

“(Willard) said, ‘There’s so much smoke, I can’t even see the highway,’” Valadez said.

Although the church fire has not been ruled arson, Valadez said Dover Baptist staff had taken precautionary measures this week as the number of East Texas church arsons continued to climb.

Staff had barred the church doors and even installed “dummy” video cameras above the main doors to hopefully scare off potential intruders.

Pastor Carl Sambles said he believed the fire was centered at the back of the church near the pulpit. Dover Baptist Church has a congregation of about 50 members.

Brandon Owens, the pastor of Clear Springs Missionary Baptist Church, arrived on the scene late Monday and said, “This is pain.”

Officials said every fire station in Smith County was being manned in case another emergency occurred while this outbreak of fires was taking place late Monday night. Resources from the eastern portion of Van Zandt County also were being sent in to help.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) was on the scene of both fires Monday night.

ARSON INVESTIGATIONS
While teams of local, state and federal authorities look at hundreds of leads in a string of church arsons, several vehicles seen near churches in recent weeks are being checked out to see whether they could possibly be related to the fires.

Tom Crowley, ATF special agent, said investigators have determined the fire that destroyed the Russell Memorial United Methodist Church sanctuary in Wills Point on Thursday was an act of arson. However, Crowley did not give any further details as to where or how the fire was started.

Earlier church fires were said to have been started with some type of accelerant being used.

The Wills Point fire is the eighth church to burn in East Texas since Jan. 1, but fires in December also are being looked at as is the fire that claimed the First Baptist Church in Temple, which was ruled as arson last month.

The first fire ruled arson was at the Faith Church in Athens on Jan. 1. Then on Jan. 12, the Lake Athens Baptist Church and the Grace Community Church in Athens both burned.
Four days later, the Tyland Baptist Church on Loop 323 in Tyler was torched, and the following night, the First Church of Christ, Scientist on South Broadway Avenue in Tyler burned to the ground. On Jan. 20, the arsonist struck again at the Prairie Creek Fellowship of Lindale on U.S. Highway 69.

Crowley said the ATF National Response Team is still in the area helping run down the leads being generated through onsite investigations and an East Texas Church Arson Task Force hotline.

“We’re following leads and are very active in the area,” he said.

Crowley added that there were several vehicles seen near churches being looked at to see whether they have any connection to the fires. The vehicles, which have been seen at all times of the day and early morning hours, have been reported as suspicious by residents to police agencies.

“We’re looking at multiple vehicles and trying to determine how serious we should take them at this point of the investigation,” he said.